"WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" p. 16
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" p. 16
This little word-nugget is a clump of paradox all rolled into one, so it's certainly a good thing that paradox is one of my very necessary literary terms :D? Let's break this down, then.
War is peace? That's just preposterous, Big Brother. War and peace are opposites. War might be unpeace, but it certainly is not peace. The world of 1984 is locked in perpetual war. However, nobody ever...wins. There are no goals of conquest, or really any goals other than the destruction of whoever is the enemy at the time. No ground is ever won, and nothing of particular import ever actually happens. There are never any actual invasions, and short of the occasional rocketbomb in the ghetto, no one is in real danger of total destruction. The three superstates of Easasia, Eurasia, and Oceania are all just so powerful that none of the three will ever win or lose. The war will just go on forever. So why wage war at all? Few things are better for boosting production than the demand created by war. As long as bombs and planes and enormous floating fortresses are needed, the economy will keep on rolling. Thus, people will have jobs and the illusion that the nation is being productive is constant. Thus, peace is achieved through waging perpetual war.
So how can freedom be slavery then? The previous period of time marked by capitalism is viewed as a time of personal freedom. People were in charge, not the government. All people were theoretically free, as there was no Big Brother to keep them down. However, according to the Party's story, the people were not free. The very few capitalists in top hats ran the show and kept the people down. None of the common people had any rights, and they were essentially slaves to the wealthy. Thus, total individual freedom ultimately led to the enslavement of the poor and middle-class. Allegedly.
How can ignorance be strength? The root of this paradox lies in doublethink, the amusing trick wherein one accepts two mutually exclusive ideas as being correct, or consciously telling a lie while sincerely believing that the lie is true, forgetting a fact that is inconvenient and then remembering it as soon as it suits ones purposes. This is ignorance, of course. However, it's like...selective ignorance, ignorance with a purpose. The concept of doublethink allows supporters of the Party to decide what to be ignorant of at any given time, and this ultimately gives them strength. They can actively decide for themselves what is true and what they believe in, and even though they know they are lying to themselves, they know that it is true. Thus, they blindly adhere to the doctrines of the Party and are thus stronger as a result.
War is peace? That's just preposterous, Big Brother. War and peace are opposites. War might be unpeace, but it certainly is not peace. The world of 1984 is locked in perpetual war. However, nobody ever...wins. There are no goals of conquest, or really any goals other than the destruction of whoever is the enemy at the time. No ground is ever won, and nothing of particular import ever actually happens. There are never any actual invasions, and short of the occasional rocketbomb in the ghetto, no one is in real danger of total destruction. The three superstates of Easasia, Eurasia, and Oceania are all just so powerful that none of the three will ever win or lose. The war will just go on forever. So why wage war at all? Few things are better for boosting production than the demand created by war. As long as bombs and planes and enormous floating fortresses are needed, the economy will keep on rolling. Thus, people will have jobs and the illusion that the nation is being productive is constant. Thus, peace is achieved through waging perpetual war.
So how can freedom be slavery then? The previous period of time marked by capitalism is viewed as a time of personal freedom. People were in charge, not the government. All people were theoretically free, as there was no Big Brother to keep them down. However, according to the Party's story, the people were not free. The very few capitalists in top hats ran the show and kept the people down. None of the common people had any rights, and they were essentially slaves to the wealthy. Thus, total individual freedom ultimately led to the enslavement of the poor and middle-class. Allegedly.
How can ignorance be strength? The root of this paradox lies in doublethink, the amusing trick wherein one accepts two mutually exclusive ideas as being correct, or consciously telling a lie while sincerely believing that the lie is true, forgetting a fact that is inconvenient and then remembering it as soon as it suits ones purposes. This is ignorance, of course. However, it's like...selective ignorance, ignorance with a purpose. The concept of doublethink allows supporters of the Party to decide what to be ignorant of at any given time, and this ultimately gives them strength. They can actively decide for themselves what is true and what they believe in, and even though they know they are lying to themselves, they know that it is true. Thus, they blindly adhere to the doctrines of the Party and are thus stronger as a result.
I like how everybody links capitalism with top hats.
ReplyDeleteI know, right? Although I don't feel that it's entirely accurate. I mean: http://www.marxist.com/images/stories/capitalist-greed.jpg
ReplyDeleteSee? No top hat!
i see your lack of top hat, and i raise you... uuuuummmmmm... a bow tie.
ReplyDelete